Chinese Leadership - by Barbara Xiaoyu Wang & Harold Chee (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

With the accelerating integration of China into the global economy, there is a thirst to understand how Chinese managers like to lead and how Chinese employees like to be managed. There is no doubt that China can be a difficult and risky market for foreign businesses. The authors show managers how to succeed when doing business in China.

Review Quotes

'This is an extraordinarily useful book that should be read by every manager who aspires to do business in or with China. The explanation of the concepts and practical realities of Face, Guanxi and Harmony and how they interrelate is brilliant. This book

will save you years of confusion and misunderstanding.' John P. Shelley, CEO, Retail & Commercial Markets, Asia, Royal Bank of Scotland

'This is an excellent guide to understanding how Chinese leadership styles can impact on the way of doing business here, and it is essential reading for any executive involved in dealing with the Chinese. It is well written, easy to read, captures the essence of the challenges in the Chinese market incisively and provides very insightful practical advice. This book gets to the heart of how things are done in China and sets out the context and practical approaches that every manager working in China needs

to know.' Wang Zheshun, President, Sinopec Petrochemical Institute of Beijing

'China is our second largest market globally and I am of course pleased to see this continuous strong growth here. But the paradox is that China is changing at an unprecedented speed yet this development is still based on a very strong traditional cultural foundation. This book is a must read guide for leaders in foreign companies operating in China. It combines in a very perceptive way the big picture with insight into the must know details for success, for in China the devilis in the detail. I hope many leaders will benefit from reading it.' Mogens Terp Paulsen, President of Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Controls Division, Danfoss

'Targeted at foreign and non-Chinese business people, this book is able to capture the ingredients of success in a complex market. It offers guidance on how to manage in a Chinese context and captures the essence of the philosophy the Chinese people follow. This book is impressive and will be of great use to managers working in and with China and is a must read for those contemplating working in China.' Zhang Jianning, Vice President, BP China

'This is a fascinating book that manages to capture the essence of Chinese philosophy and how to combine this with Western business practices. The authors have done a superb job in illustrating this dichotomy in a clear and succinct way. As a Chinese, I was very impressed with the guidance and practical tips in the book, which are so helpful for understanding the art of leadership in a diverse cultural environment, and what it takes to be an effective leader in all business environments. I highly recommend this book for any manager working in China.' Peng Ningke, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Dow Chemicals, Greater China; Board Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in China

About the Author

BARBARA XIAOYU WANG Faculty Member and the China Representative for Ashridge Business School, UK, as well as the Chief Consultant for the Western Management Institute of Beijing (WMIB), China.She has conducted training and coaching bilingually in English and Chinese for both multinational and Chinese companies in China such as the China-Britain Business Council, ABB, Danfoss, Volvo, Sinopec, China Post, Lenovo, Air Canada, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China etc; as well as teaching on MBA programmes in Chinese universities. Before her current roles, Barbara was a Vice President for the Western Management Institute of Beijing and also conducted corporate training for major organisations such as ABB, VW, Ericsson, BP, MARS, TCL, Akzo Nobel, Novartis, ICBC, etc. Her commercial experience extends to working for multinational companies in China where she was the Retail Operations Manager for CELINE of the Louis Vuitton group, the Global Accounts Manager in China at DHL, and Assistant to the General Manager at the Swissôtel, Beijing.

HAROLD CHEE Works for Ashridge Business School, UK, which is one of the world's leading Executive Education Providers. He works internationally in China, Europe, USA and Southern Africa. He is currently client director of Sinopec (largest company in China) and LGC (Laboratory of Government Chemists). He is also client director for China Post & Cheung Kong Business School (China). He has developed customised programmes for companies in theengineering, energy, financial/banking, publishing, food and beverages, steel, telecoms and chemical sectors. Harold has worked with a variety of clients such as Philips, Volvo, Sinopec, Rexam, Akzo Nobel, ITT, Continental Tyres, WH Smith, Volkswagen, Tesco, Novartis, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Tetra Pak, Lufthansa, VNU, Klockner, BBC, Home Office, Bank of Scotland, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Norwegian Paper & Pulp, and Reserve Banks of Zimbabwe & Swaziland. He also works extensively in China with clients such as ABB, Novartis, Swire Beverages, China International Capital Corporation, Siemens, Daimler, China Telecom, etc. Before joining Ashridge, Harold worked as a senior training consultant and business development manager in Beijing, China; helping to set up the China-Britain Management Training Centre. Prior to this, he worked for the giant mining company, Anglo-American Corporation in Zimbabwe and South Africa as an Organisational Development manager. Harold has also worked as a university lecturer for several years in the UK and has been a visiting professor/lecturer at the universities of Boston, Moscow and Essex. Early in his career he was a marketing officer for several organisations.